


Blue Flames

by FanfictionalRatt



Series: Fortress Memoirs [1]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 10:10:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16262045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanfictionalRatt/pseuds/FanfictionalRatt
Summary: Upon the execution of the director, Miss Pauling discovers a small notepad with curious contents - and a title labeled, "Blue Flames". A collection of one-shot interviews with the BLU Pyro, and their views on their teammates, RED, and fire. Part of the "Fortress Memoirs" series.





	1. Intro

 

By a hidden tunnel, just off the territory of Badlands, Miss Pauling readied her gun for the assassination. As a large portable telephone crackled and snapped by her ear, weakly relaying her boss’s voice – the voice of the administrator, she updated on her process. 

“It worked. He walked right in.”

_“Good. I told you not to waste time with an elaborate back story.”_ The administrator’s voice on the other side of the line went silent for a brief second, before Pauling could hear the sound of a long breath being taken in, and exhaled. Pauling had warned her about the dangers of lung cancer, time and time again, but her boss never seemed to take heed. _“I just had a pleasant chat with our mercenaries. We should have all the leverage we need.”_

Slotting the bullets into the revolver, Pauling nodded unconsciously.

“Should I hold off on your ‘interview’? He never got the chance to talk to BLU.”

_“No, he’s a liability. Do the ‘interview’. Then get back here as soon as you can.”_

She cocked the gun, and entered the tunnel. 

* * *

 

It was only after she had dragged the body some distance down the cave when she realized she’d forgotten to check what the man – or the ‘director’ as he was known in life – had in his pockets.

A small notepad, now slick and wet with blood, slipped out of his trouser pocket. On the cover, only two words were embedded on it with fancy cursive handwriting and shiny black ink – _BLU interviews_.

The title in itself was intriguing enough for Pauling to pick it up and examine, quickly flipping through the pages as she squinted at the letters in the dark. Though a good part of the notepad had been ruined with the man’s own dark fluids, the first sections of the pad were almost completely intact – and seemed to contain one full interview. On the first page the director seemed to have written the date and title of the interview, but whatever he had named it as, or whoever it was he had interviewed during the time, she couldn’t tell. Not in the dark of the cave, at least.

Pocketing the notepad, she made herself a mental note to check out the little ‘recording’ later. The small notepad definitely wasn’t worth the trouble of reporting it to the administrator – she knew she wouldn’t like it, anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like they needed it. The Administrator had already made her point, whatever that was. They had had enough leverage. 

* * *

 

It was around 11:30 in the night when Pauling finally got her alone-time.

Flopping tiredly on the bed of her temporary dorm room, she kicked her shoes off her feet and crawled lifelessly onto the pillow. Had she allowed herself to, she probably would’ve just fallen asleep that that way – with her glasses still tilted on her eyes and her neatly tied hair a mess the next morning. But it wasn’t very often that she did privilege herself to such levels of untidiness, and after around 10 minutes of lying down and wishing she would just fall asleep, she rose from the bed and hit the showers.

It was only after she had put on her pajamas and thrown her work clothes in the hamper when she realized that she’d so far, completely forgotten about the small notepad. So, as quickly and as recklessly as she threw her clothes in the hamper, she fished through it, eventually retrieving the bloodstained notepad of interest.

Just as she had suspected prior, the book still contained the readable recordings of exactly one interview – though who it had belonged to, she could’ve probably never guessed, nor believed, had she not seen it with her own eyes.

_BLU Mercenary Interviews:_

_#1 The Pyrotechnic_

Setting herself down comfortably by her bedside lamp, Pauling slowly flipped to the first page of the interview, her eyes running slowly over the bold, underlined title.

_ Blue Flames _

She snickered quietly. This was going to be fun.


	2. The Anatomy of a Pyro: A Basic Guide

Now there were always some things you had to know about a Pyromaniac before working with them. Of course, this was the same for every merc she had so far signed contracts with - but with a Pyro, it was always a little more - unique. To say the least.

First of all, there were the three golden rules:

#1: Pyros love secrecy. As long as you give them a method to conceal themselves, they will happily agree to any job you give them. Even if that job is technically mass homicide. With fire.

…Actually, scratch that. That’s the _exact_ reason why they’d accept the application.

#2: Pyros, fire, and property damage go hand-in-hand. If you are willing to hire a Pyro, do not be surprised to find a whole wooden structure gone by the next day, leaving nothing but ashes and a repair bill at least 40 times over your expected monthly spending budget in its wake. A tip: Always have your buildings (especially those made out of wood, plastic, lemon-scented corroded metal, and other combustible materials) insured.

#3: Pyros generally show a great variety in character. It is quite often that one valid method of approach to one Pyro will not work on another. The communications with each candidate must be held very carefully, and with utmost caution. Though most may lay dormant, passively docile within society, a considerable percentage may be emotionally unstable - and not easily trusting.

 _But_ _against all odds_  - Pauling reflected as she squinted at the first lines of the interview - _not all Pyro’s are about fire. Some are about the thrill of murder, the skill and precision - less than the fire itself. Possibly the only exception to our mercenary standardization policy - the biggest difference._

_Some are Pyrotechnics - others are Pyromaniacs._

* * *

…I am the Pyrotechnic.

You see, there is an art to fire – a science that people fail to understand. Humans use fire in their daily lives – to cook, warm, and even threaten. Fire is a weapon, just as much as it is a tool. Had we not been able to harness the fire, humans would have gone extinct by now. That is how much the fire matters to us.

My job, is to create art. Unlike my RED counterpart, I do not use the fire to bring chaos. I use it to help bring order.

…My RED counterpart?

No, I do not hold any ill-will towards them. Despite us killing each other on a daily basis, a being with such close intentions to mine are hard to find elsewhere. I would not go as far to say that I like them – but as a fellow Pyro, I do respect their art.

It is an odd thing, to have your closest ally be your mortal enemy. Like fire – it is beautiful, but it hurts to touch.

But I suppose by now, you have seen my hands, yes? I am not one to give up trying.

…My teammates fear me – that is true. But they know I will never go against them. That is not what my fire is for.

I protect the team from spies, unwanted ambushes, and even oncoming rockets. There is much I do to redeem myself on the battlefield. It may even be odd to you – with you attempting to find the similarities between me and the RED Pyro – that I have found many friends on this battlefield.

I am close friends with the Engineer – a gentle man, that he is. He also takes pride in his creations, building as much as he can, whenever he can. Heavy’s latest gun – the Huo-Long heater, is coincidentally me and my dear friend’s creation. And I am glad to tell you that the Heavy enjoys it a great deal.

…I come from the great land. Known to you as China. At least, that was where I was born.

My father was a pyrotechnic as well, bringing his expertise to the lands of America. In our land, the fireworks mean a great deal to our culture, and our history. As his only child, I was never allowed to touch them. My father’s training included only to view the fireworks, like dragons soaring up to the sky.

And that is why, I trained in secret.

My father did not need to know that his only child, his precious _daughter_ trained to tame the fire as well.

…Yes, I am female.

It is no secret between me and the Engineer, although I would be bothered if you exposed this to hooligans such as the Scout.

Well, I doubt you’ll live long enough for him to find out.

It is not of importance that I am female – to my team, I will continue to be the masked individual who harnesses the dragon. Had I suspected any change would come from this interview, I would not have consented to doing this. But…

If you dare tell any of my team who I am under the mask, I will ensure you, a slow, agonizing death.

 

…I am the Pyro, and if you dare go behind my back – I promise I will be the end of you.


End file.
